Hoof-pad.



No. 63|,279. Patented Aug. 22, I899.

H. u. CANFIELD.

HOOF PAD.

(Application filed May 19, 1898.)

(No Model.)

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llll llllllllllm WITNESSES INVENTOR yaw-5 I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY O. CANFIELD, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

HooF-PAo SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 631,279, dated August 22, 1899.

Serial No. 681,118. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY O. CANFIELD, a citizen of the United States,residin g at Brid geport, county of Fairfield, State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Hoof- Pad, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to the class of hoofpads used upon horses to prevent and cure lameness, and more especially in cities to take up the jar and vibration produced by hard pavement, and to prevent horses from slip-- pling on asphalt pavement. These pads consist, essentially, of a plate adapted to lie between the hoof and the shoe and a cushion held thereby which lies between the rear ends of the shoe and upon which the frog rests; and my invention has for its object to produce a novel hoof-pad of this character which may be produced in the simplest manner possible, thereby greatly reducing the cost of production, and which shall be more effective and satisfactory in use and very much more durable than any hoof-pad heretofore produced. In my novel hoof-pad no canvas or cement is used; but the shoe-plate and-frogcushion are molded together, so as to be, in fact, integral, although said parts are made of different kinds of stock, and each part retains in the completed hoof-pad the inherent properties of the stock from which it is molded, thereby greatly increasing the durability of the pad and rendering it impossible for the frog-cushion to become detached from the shoe-plate, and, furthermore, permitting the frog-cushion to be made softer than has heretofore been practicable where the shoe-plates have been made relatively soft and have been stiffened by the use of canvas and the frogcushion has been secured to the shoe-plate by cement.

It is of course well understood that it is desirable to have the shoe-plate as yielding as possible, so as to take up the vibration caused by the shoe striking asphalt and Belgian block pavements, but that the stock must be strong and tough and of a quality to resist the action of moisture and of oxidation for the reason that the nails, by which the shoe is attached to the hoof, must pass through it, and the stock must be tough and durable, so that the nails will not tear out under the test of continuous use in all kinds of temperature and weather. It is furthermore understood that the frog-cushion projects below the ends of the shoe and touches the pavement before the heel of the shoe at each step, and as a result it has been a serious objection to hoofpads of this class as heretofore constructed that the frog-cushions became loosened in use and were apt to get knocked oif. These objectionsI wholly do away with by making the shoe-plate of a rubber compound that will vulcanize relatively hard and the frog-cushion of a rubber compound that will vulcanize relatively soft and uniting the two parts of the pad together by heat while in the molds and by avoiding the use of cement in joining the parts together and also the use of canvas, it having been found in practice that the threads of the canvas will take up moisture and cause the frog-cushion to separate from the shoe-plate. The compound used for the shoe-plate is relatively tough and hard and not afieoted in use by moisture or by rusting of the nails which must pass through it. The frog-cushion is made of an ordinary white rubber compound and vulcanizes relatively soft and elastic, this being an important feature, as it prevents bruising of the frog and also adds greatly to the efficiency of the pad in preventing slipping on asphalt pavements.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a rear view of my novel hoof-pad and a shoe in the relative positions they occupy in use, the hoof being indicated by dotted lines; Fig. 2, a top view of the hoof-pad detached; Fig. 3, an inverted plan view of the hoof-pad detached, and Fig. 4' is a section on the line a: x in Fig. 3.

A indicates the shoe-plate, B the frog-cushion, and C the shoe.

The hoof-pad is provided with ribs 1,which in use lie between the frog and the outer portions of the hoof, the shoe-plate and these ribs being formed in the molds and from a relatively-hard vulcanizing compound. The frog-cushion in use lies between the rear ends of the shoe, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, and,

the operator takes a piece, which may be a blank, of relatively hard vulcanizing compound of approximately the shape and size of the shoe-plate and a piece of relatively soft vuleanizing compound of approximately the shape and size of the frog-cushion,places the two together in suitable molds, and then subjects the stock to the ordinary vulcanizing process, both shoe-plate and frog-cushion being formed to the shape of the completed pad while in the mold and beingcaused to unite together by heat, so that the shoeplate and frog-cushion become integral and remain so in use, although they are formed of different stocks, and each part retains the inherent properties of the stock from which it is formed after being molded into the completed pad.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. A hoof-pad consisting solely of rubber compounds and comprising a soft -rubber frog-cushion and a relatively thin hard-rubber shoe-plate vulcanized thereto and adapted to lie between the hoof and shoe.

2. A hoof -pad consisting of a shoe-plate formed of a relatively hard vulcanizing compound and a frog-cushion formed of a relatively soft vulcanizing compound united thereto by heat, pieces of the compounds to form said shoe-plate and said frog-cushion being placed in the molds and shaped therein and being united together in the process of vulcanization so that an integral hoof-pad is formed and the use of cement and canvas is dispensed with.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

HENRY O. CANFIELD. lVitnesses:

A. M. WoosTER, S. V. HELEY. 

